Family
by HeartOfChaos
Summary: It's Christmas,there's a terrible blizzard outside,and Harry's managed to lose his godson.Remus is probably so proud.Godfather/Godson bonding fic.I don't own Harry Potter
1. Chapter 1

_Inspiration has hit me over the head once again, forcing the plot bunnies that remained dormant within me for the past year or so to come bursting forth. They've been reproducing, it seems._

_Anyways, here is one of the newest additions to my plot bunny family. _

Family

Chapter One: December 2003

Harry was in a panic; it had been three hours since anyone had seen little Teddy Lupin running around. The whole Weasley/Potter clan knew Christmastime was a hard time of the year for the little guy, what with spending it without his biological parents. The whole family knew that he missed them and they knew the exact size of the void Remus and Tonks had left in the small boy's heart.

No one had seen the events of this night coming. Christmas was, as mentioned previously, a difficult time of year for the small boy, so it wasn't uncommon for him to have uncharacteristically quiet moments where he would leave Victoire playing with some toys and go sit by the window and look up at the stars with a longing expression. Though it sounds too emotionally deep for a young child to do, the rest of the family didn't question it and let him do as he pleased, knowing that he would snap out of it in a few minutes and go back to playing with Victoire.

Tonight, however was different. As the adults talked, Ginny heard a disturbance over in the far corner of the room where, theoretically, the two children were playing. Victoire was crying that she had no one to play. Ginny looked around the room and, to her dismay, didn't spot Teddy.

"Where's Teddy?!" she cried. And that's when the rest of the family realized what was going on and bolted out of the room in all directions to find the boy.

And here we find Harry Potter, out in the worst blizzard he had ever seen, calling frantically for his godson. If Remus had been here he would've killed Harry for losing his son, though, Harry thought in retrospect, if Remus was here, there would _be_ no reason for Teddy to have disappeared.

"Teddy! Teddy! Teddy where are you? Teddy!" Harry called. A gust of fierce wind hit his face and he flinched at the cold. He kept going, however; in the last four years he had bonded with that little turquoise-topped terror like he never thought he would with anyone in the whole world. This was a sign, according to Ginny and Molly, that he was ready for fatherhood, should the situation ever arise. Well if he was so ready for fatherhood, Harry thought, then why didn't he see the signs of an obviously troubled Teddy (more troubled than usual) _before_ he had disappeared.

And finally Harry spotted something; a small set of foot prints. Harry followed them at his greatest attempt at a sprint in a blizzard. He turned the corner to find the broom shed door about ten yards away ajar. Harry's heart skipped a beat and he increased his speed. He approached the door and pushed it open and lit his wand tip. There, sitting in the farthest corner, crying his heart out was Theodore Remus Lupin.

"Teddy, thank Merlin!" Harry whispered. He made his way toward Teddy and crouched down in front of him. He wrapped Teddy in his arms and hugged him tight, slightly relieved when the fiver year old hugged back.

"Theodore Remus Lupin what on earth were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that? We were all so worried about you, did you know that? Didn't you hear us calling for you?"

Teddy nodded, but the tears kept coming.

"I…I…I MISS MY MUMMY AND DADDY!" he cried out at last. Harry sighed heavily, knowing full well what it felt like to never know your parents. He hugged Teddy closer and rubbed small circles on his back, whispering, "I know Teddy, I know. It's okay, I promise it'll all be okay. You're alright, I got you."

After a few minutes Teddy pulled back and looked up into the shining green eyes of his godfather.

"Why'd they have to leave?" he asked, his lip trembling.

"They didn't want to leave you, Teddy. They would never have left you of their own accord. They didn't know they weren't ever going to see you again."

"They should've! If they were so smart—"

"No matter how smart, brave, or strong you are, you can never predict—and be a hundred percent accurate—the future. If I could, I would've known yesterday that you were more upset than usual and would've prevented you from leaving the house tonight. Besides, Teddy, they're always with you, right here," Harry said, poking Teddy gently in the chest right over his heart.

Teddy nodded in, what Harry hoped, understanding. "It's not fair," he muttered into Harry's shirt.

"It never is."

They were silent for a moment when Teddy looked up at Harry.

"Will you ever leave me Harry?"

Harry met Teddy's chocolate brown eyes (at least for the moment they were chocolate brown) and smiled.

"Never, little one. I'll always be with you, even, as time goes by, if you can't see me. You're stuck with me."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise."

Teddy hugged Harry tightly, as if he were something that, if let go, would float away.

"I love you Harry."

"I love you too, Teddy."


	2. Chapter 2

_So you wanted more, and here I am. This is the second part to the story, which takes place not too far off from where Ms. Rowling left off in that epilogue of hers. _

_I own nothing. _

Chapter Two: Fourteen Years Later

Teddy flopped on his couch in his cozy flat and sighed contentedly; he had been out shopping all day for Christmas presents for his family; the whole lot of them. He had been working at The Leaky Cauldron since he got out of school six months ago and he had spent almost everything he'd had saved up (with the exception of a small chunk for rent) on presents for the Weasley and Potter clans.

He bought James a Broom Maintenance Kit as his way of congratulations for making the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year, Lily a blue Pygmy puff of her very own (he always caught her looking wistfully at her cousin Molly's and Lucy's purple and pink Pygmy Puffs), Albus an updated copy of _Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland_ (complete with the newest team statistics and a list of all the members who had played on each team, and their statistics), and Ginny a new cookbook and a gift certificate to Madame Malkin's. For his Weasley "cousins" he had special ordered individualized gift baskets of Honeyduke's chocolates and candies. For the adults he gave items he'd seen them ogle in store windows and, in the case of Granddad Weasley, he found a Muggle television set with a built-in VCR and DVD player.

The only person he had not purchased for was his godfather, Harry. Teddy frowned; surely there was something he could think of to give to Harry, the one person who he trusted more than Victoire (and that was saying a great deal).

Harry, throughout his and Teddy's relationship as godfather and godson, had been, Teddy felt, the only one to have ever understood him. They were both orphans; both of their parents fell at the hands of Voldemort or those who worked for them, had died for the same cause; to give their sons a chance at a happy life. Both had grown up with obstacles in their way; Harry with all of his fame and (though Harry hated when anyone referred to it in this way) drama, Teddy with his inability to control what his hair did when he was emotional. He was the father Teddy had always wanted and more, and he didn't think he'd be able to thank Harry enough for all that he'd done, especially after Gran died a year ago.

Teddy was still brainstorming a few hours later when Hermione's Patronous, an otter, burst into the room.

_"Harry's in St. Mungo's, he's been injured badly. Come now!"_

Teddy bolted upright and was glad he didn't have to bother throwing on his traveling cloak again, for he had neglected to take it off. He grabbed and handful of Floo Powder, climbed into the fireplace, shouted "St. Mungo's!" and was gone.

* * *

He stumbled out of one of the fireplaces at St. Mungo's. He spluttered, brushed himself off, and headed toward the front desk when he bumped into Granddad Weasley.

"I see you got Hermione's Patronous too," he said gravely. After checking in with the secretary at the front, Teddy bolted in the direction she had pointed them to, Arthur jogging behind him.

Teddy burst into the waiting room to find Hermione comforting a sobbing Ginny. Ron was trying (and failing) to console Lily. The rest of the family turned to look at him, grave expressions on their faces. Teddy, wanting to concentrate on something other than the pity-filled stares of his adopted family, strode over to Ron and Lily and, to Ron's relief, took her off of his hands.

"Shhh, Lils, shhhh, it'll be okay. It's your dad, isn't it? He's been in much tougher scrapes before, hasn't he? He'll be better in no time."

"But…but…that's not what the Healers said," Lily sobbed.

Teddy looked at Ron, who stood helplessly at his side. "What does she mean? What happened?"

Ron sighed. "We received a note, a death threat against the Minister of Magic, about a week ago. Harry, me, and a couple of other Aurors went and told him that we'd be guarding him for the next week or so until we could trace the note, find the culprit. The Minister had done some shopping for his kids and asked the company who made the toys if they could send them to his house via owls. They did, they arrived today, and as Harry was inspecting one of the packages…"

Ron gulped and turned green. "It exploded. I've never felt such a violent explosion in my life. Blew the front porch and the front door off of the Minister's house. Took out some of the windows too, and it was a good fifty feet from the house…"

"The Healers…they said that Harry is badly burned…lost some blood from some other wounds caused by something else in the box…inhaled some of whatever else was in that box…" Hermione trailed off.

Teddy visibly paled. No. Harry couldn't die. Harry…Harry was invincible. Teddy thought back to that night almost fourteen years ago…  
_"Will you ever leave me Harry?"_

_"Never, little one. I'll always be with you, even, as time goes by, if you can't see me. You're stuck with me."_

_"Do you promise?"_

_"I promise."_

As childish as it seemed, Harry could not die; he would be breaking his promise.

_No. No no no no no no NO NO NO!!_ Teddy's mind kept shouting the same word over and over again until the stress overcame him. He didn't realize he was crying and hugging Lily so hard until Ron sat down on his other side and drew him in a hug.

"He'll be fine, alright? It's Harry, for Merlin's sake. He technically _died_ that night at Hogwarts…the only person to survive the Killing Curse _twice_…you think he's going to let some bomb kill him?"

"Did…did you catch the man that did it? The one that was threatening the Minister?" Teddy choked out. He didn't really care about the Minister of Magic; he wanted to make whoever did this _pay._

Ron nodded. "Yeah. Some disgruntled employee at the factory or something like that. I didn't catch that bit; I was more concerned about Harry than anything else. Hermione, who's going to get the rest of the kids from the Hogwarts Express?" Ron asked suddenly.

"Percy said he would. They should be here shortly. Percy, if you could—"

"No need to finish, Hermione. Consider me gone." Percy said, and left the room quickly. A Healer came around the corner a few moments later. Ginny took a deep breath and stood up. Teddy followed her with her eyes and stared at the Healer, every bit of him concentrating on what this man was about to say.

"If he makes it through tonight, he'll be fine. Very weak and in need of rest for a month or so, but fine," he said gravely, "but, as much as I hate to say this, don't get your hopes up too much. We're not sure what was in that box exactly, but we found components from an Erumpment horn in there. Whatever it was, it did a lot of damage, and it would be wise if you came in and said your good byes, just in case." With that, the Healer left the way he had come.

After Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Lily had taken their turns saying goodbye to Harry, it was Teddy's turn. He walked down the corridor and found the room where, beyond the simple white door, lay his dying godfather.

Teddy walked in and nearly ran back out. He had never seen Harry look so small, so weak. He had always been the symbol of strength and durability; here he looked so…fragile.

He sat down at Harry's bedside with his hands clasped firmly in his lap. He looked down at his shoes, not quite sure what to say. What did you say in situations like this?

He sighed. "Harry, I'm going to be honest with you; I don't quite know what to say here. This is really unexpected, you know? I didn't think I'd have to say anything like this to you in a long time…like when you were old…or a bit older than you are now…guess it comes with the job, right? Short life expectancy? Or maybe because that's just you. I mean let's face it Harry you're far from being normal. How many times did you land yourself in the hospital wing when you were at school? I bet half the people who've known you since then are surprised you lasted this long…" Teddy broke off, remembering that about half the people he'd known since he came into the wizarding world were dead, his parents. His parents…

The tears came back with a vengeance. They spilled over his eyes as his hair went wild, changing from one color to another.

"Harry you promised me you would never leave me! I know it sounds so effing childish, especially right now and coming from me, but you promised! Harry I don't know what I would've done without you, and I'm not ready for you to join my parents on the list of family members who I've lost to Dark magic and the cruelty of other people." Teddy paused and took a shuddering breath as he looked up at the face of his unconscious godfather.

"Harry you've got a family out there. Ginny, James, Albus, Lily…don't leave them without a dad. You know what it's like to not have family…they'll be crushed…Harry you've got to fight this…I know it's in you, because you practically raised me to be like you…and it worked, to a certain extent…I am a lot like you. I can't lose you Harry, none of us can. They love you. I love you. please Harry I can't lose another dad…not one I actually got to know…" Teddy took Harry's hand and squeezed it firmly before getting up to leave the room, but before he could leave a nurse opened the door so fast she knocked Teddy out cold.

* * *

When Teddy came to, he was lying in a hospital bed. Victoire was sitting by his bedside, beside herself with concern.

"Teddy! Oh Teddy thank goodness you're alright!" she exclaimed, hugging her boyfriend close.

"Vic, I'm fine really. What happened?"

"A nurse used a bit more force opening a door than was necessary and knocked you out cold. You've been in and out for a while now. You were talking in your sleep," she added, turning a bit pink.

"What did I say?" he asked, his voice raising about an octave above normal. He hoped it wasn't that dream with Victoire in the fishnet tights and the short blue mini dress…

"Harry," she stated simply. And then it all came crashing down on Teddy again; why he was here, why he would be talking about his godfather in his sleep. He sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to keep his emotions in check. Victoire rubbed his shoulders.

"Teddy he's fine. It's morning."

Teddy looked up sharply and looked out the window of his room. Sunlight was creeping through the blinds. Before Victoire could get in another word, Teddy shot out of his bed and found his room was right next to Harry's. He threw open the door. Harry was lying on the bed talking to Ginny, James, and Albus, who were sitting or standing at his bedside. He had an arm wrapped protectively over Lily, who was lying next to him sound asleep. The four of the five Potters looked up at the door and smiled when they found Teddy standing there.

"Glad to see you up and about. Heard you had an unpleasant meeting with my door last night," Harry said quietly. Some of his bandages had been removed, revealing angry-looking burns on his arms and one on his cheek. The flesh that was not burned was pale.

Teddy just stared at his smiling godfather, lost for words. Ginny got up and hugged him.

"He started getting better after you were carried out," she whispered in his ear. "Heard us fussing over you and started to follow suit when we realized he was coming to."

Teddy stared at her and then met Harry's eyes.

Apparently paternal instinct wins every time, even against near death experiences, Teddy thought as he unconsciously made his way to Harry's bedside.


	3. Chapter 3

_The last installment; I hope everyone who has read the story enjoyed it. It's a bit shorter than I intended, but I think it ends it nicely enough._

_Harry Potter, I own you not._

Epilogue: Two Weeks Later

"Dammit!"

"Everything alright up there Harry? Do you need anything?"

"Nope, just peachy, thanks Teddy."

Teddy rolled his eyes and made his way up the stairs toward Harry's room. His godfather, too stubborn to die, had been home for about two days when Ginny popped her head through Teddy's fireplace yesterday.

"Everything alright Ginny?" Teddy had asked.

"Well, yes and no. No, no nothing bad! But I just got an owl reminding me about a conference I have to go to in France tomorrow. I completely forgot about it, and I have to be there or I'll lose my job. Ron and Hermione are both really busy, what with Ron temporarily taking over Harry's job and Hermione getting ready to prosecute the bastard that started the whole mess, the younger kids are with Mum, Dad, George, and Angelina in Romania visiting Charlie, and Bill and Fleur are taking the rest of the kids back to King's Cross today and then are heading to France because Gabrielle just had a set of triplets, bless her heart. Would you mind—"

"Say no more, Ginny. I'll look after Harry, no problem."

And here he was, walking down the corridor in the direction of Harry's bedroom. He knocked on the door and entered. Harry was tempting his owl, Felix, to come closer and hand him the letter that was tied to his leg. He was reaching out toward the owl, which, by the look on Harry's face, it was painful and exhausting. Teddy went over to Felix and took the letter and gave him an owl treat. He hooted and flew back out the window to his home in the hole in the enormous oak tree in the back yard.

"Ah, thanks Teddy," Harry said, reaching toward him for the letter.

"Not so fast Harry," Teddy said, "Ginny said that you were to rest for the next couple of weeks, and that means that you are not allowed to get mail from work."

Harry glared at him. "Teddy, as your godfather, I demand you hand me that letter."

"Sorry Harry, but I'm over age; you're no longer my boss. Besides, it's just a dumb notice from the Department of Magical Creatures about changes in the House-Elves Office. Nothing to get excited about."

"Teddy you're holding it up to the light and I can see through it; it's a wanted poster. Give it to me."

"Nope, strict bed rest. Would you like me to Floo Ginny and see what she has to say about it? Or how about your mother-in-law?"

"Damn you to hell."

"You love me."

"There are times when I wonder."

Teddy smiled and tapped the poster with the end of his wand. It vanished.

"What did you do with it?"

"The same the same thing Ginny's done with all the other notices; hid them where the sun doesn't shine. She told me where this morning right before she left. It's almost time for dinner. Want anything in particular? Since I've been living on my own for almost eight months I've learned how to cook fairly well. nothing like Molly, Hermione, or Ginny, but it's better than what Ron does in the kitchen."

Harry chuckled. "Whatever you feel like making; I'm not sure what Ginny left us as far as ingredients are concerned, but go for it."

Teddy rolled his eyes and made to leave when…

"Teddy, come back here for a moment. I want to talk."

Teddy smiled slightly. He thought back to the numerous conversations they had had with each other that usually started with those few, simple words. He turned to look at Harry. He patted the patch of unoccupied bed. "Sit down. I won't bite, but I can't promise that a pustule won't explode on you," Harry said with a mischievous grin. Teddy rolled his eyes again but smiled as he sat on the bed. Before Teddy knew what was happening he was enveloped in a tight hug.

"I remember what you said that night. Thank you for snapping me out of it. You truly are your father's son."


End file.
